Panic not an option for Branson School boys hoops team

The Branson School boys basketball team held a 30-19 lead at one point in Saturday’s victory over Head-Royce.
The Bulls won, 50-39 by the way, to advance to the NorCal Division V finals at Folsom High next weekend. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Branson.

From 30-19, the Jayhawks jumped back to 30-25 in a flash.
But the Bulls remained composed — which is why I chose to use that word in my lead for the game story in Sunday’s paper — throughout. At no point did they seem rattled.
In fact, after Branson erased an early 9-3 deficit, I was sure the Bulls were going to Folsom.
“Internally, I was pretty nervous,” Branson coach Bob Donlan said.
But his players showed no signs of nervousness or panic.
Tyler Gaffaney dropped in a 3-pointer before the first-quarter buzzer to give the Bulls a 10-9 lead. From there, they never looked back.
Even when the Jayhawks cut into the lead late in the game, Branson found ways to get much-needed points.
Take Marco Viti, for example. He was absent on the scoreline all game, but in the fourth quarter he scored six points to help keep Head-Royce at bay.
“Marco’s had a big week,” Donlan said. “He had a big night (on Thursday), and tonight he pounded the ball inside and made a couple of big buckets.”
Perhaps no stat sticks out in the no-panic category like the Bulls’ 9-for-11 free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter.
Gaffaney was 4-for-5, John Konstin was 3-for-4, and Viti was 2-for-2.
—Branson will face San Francisco’s University High next Saturday at Folsom High School at 3 p.m. for the D-V NorCal crown and the right to travel to Bakersfield the following weekend for a chance at a state title.

What a joke. Branson lost 4 MCAL games this year, including a loss to Drake, while Redwood ran the table winning almost every game by double digits. Branson was terrible this year and this just shows how weak d5 is. Congrats to Redwood, a great team that plays real teams!

Everyone needs to get over this loss redwood had to university. They didn’t have jay flaherty in the game who is the key to that redwood team and it was before the team had really gelled and was playing their top basketball. Just like their casa grande game.
Redwood is 20x better than branson. If branson were in d2 they wouldn’t have won their first round ncs game. Bransons ranking is high because theyve been winning games, if anyone watches that team play they know their nowhere near redwoods talent or any of the other teams.

Oh and to adress Marie yelling the annonymous’s post. There are only 10 teams remaining in Norcals. so obviously redwoods not going to have many teams on their schedule still playing. Anyone notice Sacred Heart won their division and killed a really good burlingame team by 30? That oakmont team redwood lost to, in which they had a chance to win although they played their worst game of the year, would beat branson by 30. Their is no contest here

Redwood dominated MCAL and deservedly won NCS division 2. It was a very memorable season for the Giants and I am certain that most players and fans are very proud and secure with their accomplishment.

The comparison of Branson with Redwood should have stopped when MCAL play ended. It is unfair to criticize a team’s accomplishment based on their division for post-season play. Branson is competing in Division 5 because they have an enrollment of about 320 students. It is predictable that the overall level of play and depth will vary by division and there will be a drop-off among smaller schools.

Redwood fans would love to be still playing and it is understandable that they view Branson with some envy. There seems to be a small number of fans who take it further and find it necessary to come on here and talk trash about Branson. This is childish.

Uhh… Why are people comparing Redwood to Branson by common opponents when you could, say…. compare them based on THE TWO GAMES THEY PLAYED HEADS UP? Oh yeah thats right, they weren’t close. At all. Branson could have tried to compete for a THIRD time, but wait, thats right, they lost to TL. And drake. D5 bball is a JOKE.

Jay Flaherty went down in the first two minutes of the game and did not return. Clearly you are a Branson player or parent, and if your last name isn’t Gaffney, well then I’m sorry because he is the only legitimate basketball player on that team, the rest can hardly dribble. Everyone knows that Branson has faced the weakest D5 in years AND THAT IS D5. Even ex players from the state championship teams seem to think it’s a joke and feel as though the 2010 team is taking away from what they did. I think you also forget about TL, who was also better than Branson this year. The hardest games Branson had to play this year was against Redwood and TL, and we all know the results from those games….

Let’s look at facts: Jay played 14 minutes against University (until then, he was averaging 19); Tyler is not alone on that Branson squad-Boone is hitting 3’s, Konstin does some nice things (I agree, they have trouble against pressure); how does Branson’s current success detract from their prior success (no one is arguing D5 is not down this year or that the prior Branson squads are similar to the current squad-doubt those other guys wish Branson would lose now or weeks ago or that they think current squad is a joke); Redwood beat TL three times by average of 17 and Branson twice by average of 9….with Branson splitting with TL, winning once by 23 and losing once by 5 (hard to say Branson didn’t have better season than TL based upon the big 3 performances). So, unless you have built-in biases for/against any team or specific kids-what are you talking about? If there are Branson kids who feel that way, I’m saddened by their lack of decency and pride. I certainly expected more from those guys who were taught and mentored by Mr. Honich-he’d, I think, would be disgusted.

A fact that seems to get overlooked in the Branson vs. T.L. playoff game is the loss of two additional starters. Dun was out for the season and missed both the regular season matchup and the playoff. In the playoff, Konstan was sick and wasn’t able to suitup and Vitti was nursing a high ankle sprain. On a 9 man squad the loss of that quality and quantity of player is bound to have an affect.

John Dunn wouldn;t of made the slightest difference this year for branson against redwood and although your right that Konstin would have made a difference there is the fact that Redwood handled branson quite easily twice this year, and beat veryone in MCAls by double digits.
The talent level on the two teams is not even close….The only player on Branson that would start for redwood would be gaffney…and the only other 2 that would even see the court would b boone and Konstin
Congrats to Branson for their success, but their no where near redwoods level and i think even if Branson goes to state anyone would agree that Redwoods season was much more impressive

I agree that Branson would not last in D2, but that doesn’t make them a joke. They beat every team in MCAL besides Redwood at least once this year and ALL of those schools have at least twice as many kids to choose from. Branson is in D5 because only 320 kids go to the school, not 1500+ like D2 teams – that’s why divisions exist! Redwood’s success shouldn’t be overlooked because they did not make it as far as Branson in state play, and Branson’s success should not be overlooked just because of their small size.

In Redwood’s first victory against Branson-Tyler didn’t play. Dunn would have helped-how much, we don’t know. Let’s talk coach of the year-I vote for Bobby D. of Branson. Starting one year ago-his first year-in shadows of Mr. Honich-lost 95% of player minutes from prior year’s team and won MCALS. This year, probably lost 65% of player minutes from prior year’s team and still finished second in MCAL. This despite an incredible number of player games lost to injury. Was Redwood better than Branson-for sure-but Branson played them tight (even beating University which beat Redwood). What say you? Still awaiting response from MCAL with unsupported allegations regarding prior Branson players. Guess remains-MCAL made it all up!

Hand it to Redwood boys and Branson girls and boys teams. They had good seasons.I think it is fair to say that overall the MCAL league was weaker than in previous years. With that said, it is ridiculous to compare a D2 school to a D5 school. Redwood has 1500+ kids where Branson only draws from 320. They have division brackets for a reason. Let’s wish Branson good luck in the game today and stop the squabbling.

D V is extremely weak. Please dont compare redwood and Branson. Branson is a great team and i do agree Bob Donlan is the coach of the year but the talent on Redwood and Branson is not comparable. Thats really all that needs to be said and if you dont believe that you are a branson fan or you dont know basketball very well.

You win the annual “Insecurity Award” given out to the poster who can do the best job combining these traits – overstating the obvious, beating a dead horse, and ripping an opponent to make oneself feel better.

I don’t see anyone from Branson on here saying they are better than Redwood. Most Redwood people treat Branson with respect. There is no reason to bash division 5. It is common knowledge that that the higher the division, the likely stronger level of play. This is a given. There is no reason to rub someone’s nose in it like a handful of posters have done.

Drake Pirate Parent hit the nail on the head. Go a head and bash Branson if you wish, but you just look foolish.

I think the IJ said-all league stuff held until last squad finishes season (Saturday with Branson). Mr. Strap said it all. The facts are: Redwood was undefeated in league and beat Branson twice. Branson overcome some incredible difficulties-player defections and injuries-to find the momentum at the exact right time. They are, NorCal’s best in Division 5. As the purpose of high school athletics is simply for the kids-not us-why can’t you embrace both squads (and be happy for the kids and the fans who enjoyed great seasons)? Finally, it seems MCAL-who gets his facts wrong-also won’t support the alleged derogatory comments from past Branson squads. Man up MCAL-you were caught with your pants down and need to apologize for your pathetic allegations. The trueff will set us free.

Yeah when is the all Marin team coming out? Honestly, it is laughable if anyone thinks Branson compares to Redwood. Redwood stepped it up big time and won NCS against teams that would have beaten Branson easily.
Wiggins MVP-so 6 total, spelling might be wrong.
C- Wes- San Marin
PF- Chow? Novato didn’t make the playoffs so this tripped me up. TL’s pg Wood. is more deserving. But you can’t have two TL players and only one Redwood player. Branson and TL should get one each and maybe Redwood two.
SF- Manaoli- TL
G-Gaf-Branson
G- Jay and/or Healey-Red
I don’t see how anyone else could be considered a first-teamer other than those guys.
No one on Drake, SR, Tam, JS, MC.

Did anyone follow the Branson Live Blog? Two guys essentially say-Branson could beat Redwood-“easily”, now. Why pollute the Blog with that garbage? Branson had 3 chances to beat Redwood-2 in regular season (2 losses) and 1 in post season (they failed to make finals). Guests on Blog failed to realize-Redwood could play up tempo game and Branson’s slow down game. Plus, do you really want to go into battle with Redwood with Vito, Rabin and Moynihan? Case closed. Congrats, to, Branson for an incredible season. We are proud of your team and the kids.

Both Redwood and Branson had very good years. Both teams came as close to achieving their potential as they could. Both groups of young men (and remember that high school basketball is primarily for the benefit of the PARTICIPANTS, not the spectators) learned about the benefits of hard work, teamwork, and about how to overcome adversity.

Looks like Branson got healthy just in time to finish the year strong as the highest ranked MCAL team in the NCS according to both Maxpreps and Calpreps. Both ratings services ranked Branson #9. Redwood got recognition too, they are ranked next at #10. Congratulations to the boys and coaches of both fine teams.

Those are both computer ratings, and it was because they were still playing at the end of the year and got wins. The chronicle, cal hi sports and other services that were human based and had actually seen both teams play ranked redwood ahead of branson. And as anyone knows, they were far and away the better team.

I’m having a little trouble with the point you’re trying to make. I checked out the CalHi Sports.com website and the Final State Top 40 Boys BB Rankings of April 4, 2010 doesn’t list either Redwood or Branson. Where did you find the rankings of which you speak? Couldn’t find any on the Chronicle website either. Plus, wouldn’t a “human based” ranking system, intent on finding the superior team, be more favorable to Branson since a computer based system wouldn’t discount the losses suffered when multiple starters were sick and/or injured? A computer based system would factor in objective data such as the record of the opponent, home or away games, margin of victory, etc. A “human based” system would take into account the subjective things such as 2 or 3 starters not able to play. Thus, ranking Branson even higher than the computer based system. I think the Maxpreps and Calpreps rankings are probably appropriate, I wouldn’t think Branson should be ranked even farther ahead of Redwood.

Why would one care about computer or human rankings when-the two teams, Branson and Redwood, played twice this season. Branson had chance to make it three-but failed to handle TL (which Redwood beat for the third time) in the MCAL playoffs. I know some say, by end of season, Branson was better team-but, I think, that assumes they, in 2/3 weeks, simply improved so much as to be unrecognizable to the team we saw during MCALS. Branson had a great season in Division 5. Redwood had a great season in Division 2. OK?

It’s not that Branson got better in 2/3 weeks, it’s that they got healthy. Missing 3 starters, as they were in the playoffs against TL would be difficult for any team, Redwood included, to overcome. TL, without 3 starters, lost to Tam. Redwood had no significant injuries or illness’ that caused multiple players to miss multiple games. It takes a good team with good fortune to win the league and Redwood was both good and fortunate, thus they were the champs. Branson was not fortunate. However, when they did get “almost” fully healthy (only missing 1 starter) they beat some very good teams. How would they have fared in MCAL, we’ll never know, but the rankings seem to indicate the experts think they showed themselves in the NCS & NorCal tournaments to be, in the end, a better team than Redwood.

Fan, are you out of your mind? Issue is: would Redwood have done better than Branson in D5 and would Branson have done better than Redwood in D2 playoffs? We’ll never know. We do know, though: (a) Redwood beat Branson twice; (b) Branson failed to win to achieve a third battle; (c) Redwood placed 3 players in top 11 of MCALS (with a 4th as honorable mention), Branson placed 2; (d) only one Branson player would crack Redwood’s starting line-up (Mr. Gaffaney); (e) none of the 6 to 8 bench players from Branson would earn time over the 6 to 8 Redwood guys; and (f) all Branson parents who I’ve spoken to acknowledge that Redwood was and is the better team. Which starters missed the Drake game? Absolutely, Redwood didn’t suffer the injuries that Branson faced. Again, the only truth is what Redwood and Branson did face/to/face-case closed. Wins in sports are not handed out based upon computer simulations, expert opinions or fan opinions-they’re earned on the field of play. Redwood won. Branson lost. Case closed. If I was a Redwood player, I’d give you a good cuffing just to get your brain to think straight.

The issue isn’t which team would do better in the other team’s division. The “hypothetical” issue is: when fully healthy, which team is better? Hypothetical, because a game between the two, with both healthy, never did and never will occur. As you stated in point a), a healthy Redwood beat a non-healthy Branson twice. That is a fact. Point b) Minus 3 starters, Branson failed to make it to the Championship game against Redwood. That is a fact. Point c) A healthy Redwood had one single player more in the top 11 of the all-league teams than an injury plagued Branson. That is a fact. Makes sense, if Branson’s players are injured and can’t play a full season they can’t earn post season awards. Point d) only 1 player from Branson would crack Redwood’s starting line-up. That is an opinion, and one that is not supported by the all-league selections that you yourself use as support. Boone was voted to the 2nd team, same as Jay Flaherty, and ahead of the Honorable Mention selectee and the non-honored 5th starter of Redwood. Point e) none of the 6-8 bench players for Branson would earn time over the 6-8 Redwood guys. Branson didn’t have 6-8 bench players. For several games they only had 2, sometimes 3 guys on the bench. Redwood had more seniors on their team then Branson had total, healthy players for most games. If you want to make the point that Redwood had more depth there’s no arguing with that. A school that exceeds 1500 kids should always have greater depth than one of just 300. Point f), well that’s a ridiculous, baseless arguement. All the Redwood parents and players I’ve spoken to, plus their coach, AD, Principal and Barack Obama himself (a closet Redwood fan) told me they were glad to not have to face a healthy Branson squad. Which starters missed the Drake game? John Dunn and Marco Viti. Viti had a sprained ankle and I’m told he attempted to play but could only go for a couple of minutes.

When you are a small school of roughly 300 students with a team of only 7-9 guys, the effect of missing 2-3 starters is SIGNIFICANTLY greater than for a school of 1500 with a roster of 17. Redwood had a fantastic season and is deserving of all their accolades. The fact that Branson could compete this year, let alone finish second in the league was amazing.

Rankings attempt to rank teams that in many cases have never played each other. In this particular case a healthy Branson has never played Redwood. But the experts seem to think, that Branson’s performance at the end of the season when they were “nearly” healthy, was indicative of a superior team and thus ranked them higher in the end of the season poll. It’s an imperfect science but absent any cogent arguement from elsewhere, the opinions of the experts of MaxPreps and CalPreps stands.

I believe Branson had a fantastic year-over last 2 seasons lost a ton a quality players and performed admirably in the post-season. Bobby D is coach of the year in MCAL. Again: (a) the issue is which team would have faired better in the others division-simply because on May 4 you made it the issue “Branson showed themselves in the NCS and NorCal tournaments”. If the experts give Branson the nod for having a better postseason-then, for sure, what division you’re in makes a difference. Fan-you know this; (b) which injured Branson player would have won a post-season award?; (c) question is-which starting position would Boone crack on Redwood? He’s a trey man with a distate for the paint and abhors defense. He can’t do as much as Healy. I leave it to you to figure out if he’d replace Drury; (d) glad you accept Redwood had more depth-that’s one crucial component of a “better” team (the whining about the size of Branson-based on their historic dominance of MCAL-seems childish); (e) nothing ridiculous about referencing Branson parents-they’ve watched these kids since the CYO and middle school years. Their kids have played AAU ball together and against the strong MCAL players for years; (f) no doubt, Redwooders have expressed sadness that Branson was not fully loaded during MCALs-we’re nice people-none of us, though, believe the results would be different with Branson fully healthy; and (g) I don’t know why you call MaxPreps and CalPreps experts-look at how accurate they were in Redwood’s NCS bracket. In addition, have the experts ever watched any of those teams play? I think, fully healthy, in a 7 game series, Redwood wins 4 to 2. Fan-your opinion.

Well it looks like we agree, both Redwood and Branson had great seasons. If you want me to guesstimate how each team would have fared in the other’s division it would be completely hypothetical as Branson never played any of those teams. Redwood, however, did play University. I guess, depending on when in the NCS playoffs Redwood would lose to University they might not even make it to Nor Cals in D5. (sorry, cheap shot).

If you ask which injured player would have won post season honors, point b), I would say John Dunn. I believe he would have been 2nd team all MCAL, he’s that good. Next year, God willing he’s healthy, I believe he will show how good he is and it will become more clear what Branson was missing this year. Missing Konstin, Vitti and Gaffney it’s clear what was lost. Mr. Dunn however, never had a chance to show what he can do before he went down. He has been a force at every level of CYO and on JV at Branson his freshman year.

Other than that I think we’ll need to agree to disagree on the hypothetical question of which team, assuming a completely heathly roster, was better.

Fan-you are out of your mind. First, Redwood lost to University in pre-season-like 2 months before MCAL finals (where, you dear Branson was in the stands watching). Second, John Dunn, if healthy this season, would be found no where (no even honorable mention). Dominating in CYO (never watched him at that level-can tell you that Mr. Gaffaney was a very good CYO player-didn’t dominate-now he’s headed to Cmt-Mckenna to play ball), or on JV (I did watch him there-no one in their right mind would say he dominated-he played well, that’s it), is meaningless. I watched him during the summer-he struggled handling the ball, shooting and playing D. The jump to high level Varsity play is daunting. I know Mr. Dunn works hard-incredibly hard-and that he is a good kid. There’s not a Branson parent who would make that argument. I, too, hope he’s healthy next season, plays incredibly well and has chance to play at higher level. I do know this-Kai Drury-also a junior-is a far better player now-and he didn’t make the second team or the honorable mention squad. I do, think, you’ve lost just enough credibility advancing Mr. Dunn that it is safe to simply ignore your ramblings. I offered you chance to predict a 7 game, fully healthy series, you refused. I still say-Redwood wins that 4 to 2 (Redwood has 4 starters in top 20 in league, you agreed their bench is far superior and Branson didn’t get it done throughout the season). Are you John’s dad?

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